


Snowflakes

by ChibiKame



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiKame/pseuds/ChibiKame
Summary: Branch is reluctantly made to participate in Snowflakes Day for the very first time





	Snowflakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tealbull81](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tealbull81/gifts).



Every winter, the trolls of the village celebrate a holiday meant to represent their unique and special personalities. Preparation for the Snowflakes Day Snowflake Festival was simple; each troll ventures out in search of their own fallen snowflake, which averaged from the size of a troll to that of five. When a troll found their perfect snowflake, they’ll decorate it with ornaments, glitter, etchings, or a variety of other accessories to reflect themselves. Once their masterpiece was complete, they wrapped it in twine and designed a macrame net that attached to their pod. The final result was that each pod in the tree had it’s own snowflake - or two for couples - no similar to it’s neighbor’s, each glimmering and sparkling in the light.

They would often be kept until the beginning of a new year, or even up until the ice begins to melt in the warmer spring. But the festival itself, in which the snowflakes are decorated and strung up, lasts only one day, and everyone is expected to have their own ice crystal dangling by evening, in time for songs and games.

And that’s what led to Branch’s current dilemma.

“Oh no you don’t Branch, not this time!” Poppy angrily pouted at him, hands on her hips. “You’re not getting outta it this year! Your going to celebrate Snowflakes Day whether you like it or not!”

“It’s freezing and miserable out there, and I’ve never done it before!” He groaned, as Poppy went back to cooking the apple cinnamon filling for their potluck pie. “The bunker was never exactly a place to hang up snowflakes, you know.”

“That doesn’t excuse you from participating this year.” She pointed her glazed wooden spoon at him, never minding the gloopy drips of sauce falling to the floor. “And besides, it’s going to be obvious to everyone else if their king’s own snowflake isn’t hung up.” She focused back on her cooking before it could get burnt. “I know you’re still adjusting to life in a pod and in the tree, but as a ruler you have to sometimes suck it up and do things you don’t like to do for the sake of your fellow trolls.”

He sighed, but didn’t fight back with her, silently resigning himself to his task with the crumble topping for their pie.

She had a point, of course. It wasn’t like this came out of nowhere; she warned him just before their official engagement that he’d have to make sacrifices, a LOT of them; moving out of the bunker and into a pod, addressing important announcements and creating speeches for every holiday (of which there were plenty), smiling more...

And for the last month she of course gave him constant reminders that the Snowflake Festival was absolutely mandatory for them; no slinking off back home at the end of the speech, no quietly standing behind her and letting her take charge all the time, no sneaking away from the party to make safety inspection rounds. The royal family had quite a few protocols to follow for this particular festival, and he signed himself up for it the moment he said ‘I do.’

And she’s been pretty lenient for the last eight months, allowing him to socialize at his own pace, letting him use her and the Snack Pack as a buffer from the others trolls that were suddenly a ton more chummy and touchy-feely.

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be happy with this. So maybe it was a little immature to make a frown out of crumble on top of the now fully filled pie. She gave him a look that spoke volumes about how she felt about that. In return, he stuck his tongue out like a brat and covered the remaining surface of the pie, topping it off with cinnamon sugar.

“What are you worried about, anyway?” She picked up their conversation again after the pie was in the oven and the timer set, the two of them cleaning up their workspace. “All the big creatures are hibernating by now, and it’s not like Mr. Crazy-Prepared Survivalist can’t handle a little hike to the fields. Unless...” With a glint of mischief in her eye, she poked his stomach, prompting him to jolt away from the ticklish sensation. “You’re getting all soft now that you’re not _frolicking_ in the woods, huh big guy?”

“I don’t _frolic_!” He swatted her hand that attempted to poke him again, a little miffed at her sudden playful mood. “And I’m definitely not getting soft!” He may deny it, but there was no doubt that the roughness of his palms and soles, the rigidness of his shoulders and the hardness of his arms...were getting just a little more tender now.

“Soft and squishy!” She teased, miming pinching his arms, something she’d taken upon doing when she realized the hidden muscles underneath weren’t as pronounced as before. She finally stopped when he did the same gesture, threatening to pinch her back if she even dares. She turned her attention to the sink where she began cleaning the pot and spoon.

“So anyway, dad and I do plan on getting our snowflakes tomorrow since we’ll be too busy making sure things run smoothly on the day of. You might as well get it over with and join us.”

“Do I really have to?” He of course groaned. “Can’t you just pick one for me?”

“No Branch, the whole point is to pick the perfect snowflake for you.” Poppy rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness. “Don’t make me drag you out there.”

He made a little displeased, whiny noise that would’ve been cute any other day...but Poppy wasn’t going to be duped into feeling guilty. After all, Branch was going to have to learn how to pick snowflakes for their own children.

Once their pie was out of the oven, cooled, covered and ready to be carried, she went off to find her husband who by then had moved on to the corner that had been designated as his office, just a table and chair with several organized boxes of various materials and a neat stack of books, adjacent to her own crafting table filled to the brim with scrapbooking supplies and sheets of felt.

She wondered what he was doing in that corner, and decided to discreetly peek over his shoulder. He had one of his books open, one she recognized well even from a distance. Leaning in on her tiptoes, he was stopped on one particular page with four photographs taped to them. Each of the photographs depicted a winter scene. By now she recognized the three trolls prominent in most of Branch’s old photos; his father who was identical to the point of practically being a twin, and his elderly grandparents. Two of the pictures depicted Branch’s father showing baby Branch how to make snowballs and ride a sled; the third had Branch wearing a cute sweater and the last had all four of them just outside their old snow-sprinkled pods.

Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on the top of his head, which made his tall hair split. She waited a minute for him to say something, but seeing that he wasn’t going to do so without motivation, moved her head to kiss the side of his. “Talk to me.”

He sighed. “We didn’t have the snowflake tradition in the old tree, until a few years before the escape.” He explained. “The scouts searching for a new home came back one winter with snowflakes. They didn’t fall in Bergen Town, so they were something new and interesting, and no one snowflake had the same pattern. That was before I was born...grandma said my mother came back with one that had heart-like shapes and an eight-point star pattern right in the center, saying it reminded her of grandma and grandpa.”

“Aww!” Poppy replied automatically.

He smiled, his mood lightened up. “You think I could find something like that though?No two snowflakes are apparently alike.”

“Well, probably not a perfect replica of your mother’s, but hey, I always look every year for one with a flower pattern, there’s always a least one like that if I search hard enough!” She pulled him up from his seat, quietly suggesting that needed to get a move on. “Is that what you were so worried about? You couldn’t find one that special?” She asked as they walked over to their shared wardrobe.

“That, and the freezing cold we’d have to endure for hours just to get a darn snowflake.” He followed suit and put on his plaid jacket and red scarf as she was buttoning up her light blue fleeced coat.

“I’ll make us all my famous hot cocoa afterwards.” Poppy promised as she dipped her feet onto her fuzzy boots, already wearing socks while they were in the pod.

“Maybe...downsize mine to a regular.” He smirked, recalling the copious amounts of marshmallows, peppermint sticks, powdered sugar and butterscotch drizzle she always topped off her already super-sweet cocoa.

“How did I ever get stuck with a boring ol’ troll like you?” She giggled teasingly, her fits increasing as he playfully flicked her bangs.

As they walked towards Biggie’s pod, pie in hand, they continued to joke and tease with each other, meeting up with other friends along the way, and talking all about their plans.

“Look!” Satin and Chenille pointed out happily. “I think it’s already snowing in the fields!”

While it was dark, the last glimmer of sunlight and the dark clouds that catches those slim rays brightened the sky from a distance, and sure enough one large cloud in particular seemed to rain down a bit of a hazy shower of fluff.

“You know what that means?”

“We should go get our snowflakes tomorrow when the pickings are still good!” They squealed.

“That’s what I’ve been planning!” Poppy agreed. “Branch, dad, and I were going early so we could focus on the festivities the next day.”

“Maybe we should all go!” Smidge suggested. “I gotta make sure I’ve got the biggest one there is.”

“Let’s run it with the others at the party.” They agreed, and continued on their way.

—

“Rise and shine dad!” In the early hours Poppy kicked her father’s pod wide open and somersaulted inside, Branch sleepily trailing just behind. He’s used to her antics by now, that it didn’t faze him when she energetically bounced off of bed before the sun had even risen, threw on her usual winter clothes, and practically dressed him up herself before dragging his half-asleep self to the pod just a few doors down from theirs.

Nor was he surprised to see the much older, but still equally chipper and energetic Peppy flipping pancakes over his shoulder, perfectly hitting one of three plates laid out. “Good morning to you, my little princess! Good morning, my boy!” The old troll happily greeted them as if they hadn’t just barged in unannounced.

“Yum, chocolate-chip pancakes!” Poppy hopped over a chair and landed perfectly onto it. Branch lethargically sat in the one beside hers, like a normal person.

“Here you go, Branch, I made it extra strong.” Peppy paused his pancake flipping long enough to approach his son-in-law with a steaming cup of coffee in a large red mug; just what Branch needed. Poppy of course was offered none, due to the fact she would steal from Branch’s anyway, with a high probability of pouring a half cup of sugar to sweeten it.

“Thanks.” He gratefully accepted the cup and took a big whiff. By the time he finally took the first sip, Poppy had finished half her stack and snuck one of his pancakes onto her plate, adding whip cream, sprinkles, and extra chocolate chips onto it.

“Slow down sweetheart. We’ve got all day to make our trip.” Peppy reminded his daughter, sitting down on the last chair and helping himself to his own breakfast, including a cup of coffee smaller than Branch’s and chock full of cream and sugar.

“I’m so excited!” She squealed, having already finished by the time her father finished his sentence, plus half of Branch’s coffee which he gave up without so much as a complaint. “Dad, did you know this’ll be Branch’s _first_ _time_ _participating_?”

“Why, that is certainly news to me.” Peppy chuckled. She had only mentioned it perhaps three times a day for a month.

“Ooooh, I can’t wait to get our snowflakes, they’re going to look so pretty on our pod!” Poppy was now bouncing around the kitchen, grabbing a glass and helping herself to some strawberry milk from inside the icebox, while simultaneously washing her dishes. “I already got my box of ornaments out, and I made a few new ones last week! It’s going to be hair-freaking ‘tastic!” Making her way back to the table, she swiped Branch’s finished mug to wash it off, waiting impatiently for the two of them to hurry it up.

“Poppy dear, while you’re up, perhaps you can grab my gear?”

“Okay, dad!” She raced to her father’s wardrobe, turning it inside out in search for his jacket, sweater, mittens, wool socks, and earmuffs.

“Hmm, thank you, princess.” Peppy resumed back to his breakfast. “I see you are excited as Poppy is, son.” He jokingly said to the quieter Branch taking his time digging into his stack.

Branch sighed. “I’m ready to get it over with, honestly.”

“I see,” Peppy nodded understandably. “Rumor is this will be your first snowflake harvest. To be out there today and then tomorrow for the whole festival can be quite overwhelming.”

“Yeah, plus I...” Branch looked downward, hesitant with just how much he was willing to say, but decided to just say it out loud. “I’ve got a very special one I want to find; eight-point star center and heart-like shapes. It has to have those specifics; everything else doesn’t matter.”

Peppy smiled kindly, and didn’t question the odd request. “I’ll keep my eyes wide open.”

“Come on you two, we don’t got time to dilly dally all day!” Poppy exclaimed, dumping her father’s warm-weather clothing onto his lap.

“Oh? Where is my scarf?” Peppy asked innocently.

“Scarf? _Scarf_! How could I forget! I _gave_ you that scarf!” Poppy smacked her forehead. “I’ll find it! Just hurry up and get ready!” She bolted back to the bedroom.

“Oh, I remember now; I’ve lended it to Miss Gia.” Peppy whispered, winking to Branch, then got up to clean his dishes, at his own pace.

Not long afterwards, Branch finished his own breakfast and pulled on his own mitts as Peppy got dressed for the weather himself. Unable to find her father’s extra-sparkly scarf, Poppy quickly knitted up a new less-sparkly one for him.

As soon as they were outside, Poppy and Branch practically switched moods. Now he was full of energy and eagerness to get to their destination...while Poppy immediately plopped onto a pile of powder to make snow-troll angels.

“You rushed us during breakfast, and now you just want to play?” Branch crossed his arms and tapped his foot as Poppy began packing snowballs in her palms and storing them in her hair; she was likely waiting to ambush an unsuspecting victim.

Poppy shrugged. “We’ve got all day. Come on, Branch, help me make these so we can ambush an unsuspecting victim!” She literally repeated what he just guessed.

“Why, look at all those lovely snowflakes there,” Peppy exclaimed, appearing to see from afar. “There must be _thousands_ of them!”

Poppy gasped happily and leapt back to her feet. “What are we waiting for?! Let’s go, pronto!” She grabbed their wrists and dragged them forward.

She stopped short when they passed a pretty set of icicles that Poppy found both mesmerizing and inspiring, but Peppy pulled the same trick again to get things going.

When they finally reached the field, Poppy was already dancing with glee and shouting happily like a child who just unwrapped the greatest gift ever. “Wow, look at all of them!” She ran around a couple fo the snowflakes. “They’re all so glossy and pretty!”

The snowflakes, which sure enough must have freshly fallen last night, sprouted from the snowy ground like they’ve been planted there. Their tones ranged from bright, pure white to an opaque blue, which they likely received as a result from the pollen of mountain-side winter orchids that typically pigmented any of the clouds that came southbound. Patterns branched off from these snowflakes in as many as sixteen arms to as few as two. Some Snowflakes were even more geometrically shaped, in hexagons, perfect squares, even uneven circles and triangles. They were patterned with ridges developed as a result of how the droplets froze up, and some of these patterns consisted of shapes that were recognizable as depicting an existing object. But best of all, the rays of daylight, which wasn’t strong enough to melt the snowflakes, glimmered through each transparent part to crate a prismatic, gleaming effect and emphasizing the most unique shapes of each individual snowflake.

“Hey, this one kinda looks like a clover!” Poppy giggled at a particular snowflake with four lobed branches with a vein pattern and tapering, wrinkled ends. “And this one’s like a funny doily.” She oohed and awed at every unique appearance.

“Remember, we’re here to look for our perfect snowflakes.” Branch reminded, tapping on a nearby snowflake with a very misshapen, unrecognizable form, it’s too fragile arm braking off with just the slightest touch.

“Well, we’ve gotta inspect them closer to make sure they’re right!” Like a bee on a sugar-high, Poppy bounced from one snowflake to the other, pointing out each and every little detail she found interesting.

“She’s right; it’s important to take note of each snowflake’s patterns; many of the other trolls will wait until tomorrow to collect theirs, and Poppy always take note of which ones she’s seen to help the trolls looking for something special.” Peppy squeezed Branch’s shoulder. “And no doubt that includes yours.” Peppy walked off and began his own search.

“Uhh, don’t get too far!” Branch worriedly called out to them both. “J-just in case you need help!” Poppy was still zigzagging around and exclaiming her findings, and he heard her more than he could see her; Peppy was still close enough that Branch could spot him strolling along almost aimlessly.

But either way, Branch was currently left to his own devices. He suddenly felt pretty intimidated; the field was massive and littered with a sea of fallen snowflakes; how was he suppose to find one particular one out of the whole bunch?

“Okay Branch; think with your wits.” He backtracked to just outside the field and walked along the perimeter. “Start from the southeast corner and work your way up.” If he was going to deal with frigid temperatures, breaking ice, and sinking into soft snow for the next few hours, he was going to do it the most logical way possible. Properly oriented, he marked off the spot with one of the sticks he brought along to help him know where he’s already looked.

As he began, he decided to go with Peppy’s suggestion and attempt to at least take note of the special patterns along the way. He also performed his royal duty of checking for bad snowflakes that were unlikely to be picked and shattering them to save the other trolls’s time. Poppy and Peppy were likely doing the same, if the bouts of laughter and crashing from the distance was any indication. As he finished searching a small section of the field, he marked it with another stick and moved on, so that he wouldn’t accidentally come back around and reinspect the exact same snowflakes.

The task was tedious; he’ll look at the various patterns vying for something similar to what his grandma described; he’s found a few that were so close to having the star shape he wanted, only for them to have seven or nine points instead. Plenty had heart shapes, or shapes close enough to a heart, but none included stars. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask for, especially considering that so far he’s found one particular snowflake that had the resemblance of a caterpillar on it, and a couple that appeared to have a tree, even one with the silhouette of a face!

“There!” He shouted triumphantly as he finally, after an hour and a half of searching, found his snowflake. He raced over to it, patting himself on the back for spotting it so quickly. It was buried a little deeper than most, but sure enough an eight-point star in the center, and the four branches that he could see had a tiny heart shape on each end. It was also rather on the small side, but he didn’t mind the size so long as it looked good.

He didn’t come this far to mess up, so with care he gently entwined hair around the snowflake and started digging out the rest of it from the snow.

Only to discover that the reason it looked buried deeper than other snowflakes was because a good chunk of it was missing. Panicked, he dug his hands into the snow for the other pieces, finding a few of the fragments. The snowflake was, unfortunately, a fragile dud.

“Ergh! This is ridiculous!” In frustration he picked up the snowflake and threw it away, not caring when it crashed into another and the two fractured on impact. “Who came up with this stupid holiday, anyway?!”

“Having fun?” Poppy appeared to his side.

“No.” He glumly fell on his backside.

“Well you should!” She kicked snow onto him. “If you focus too much on just searching, you’re not going to enjoy this. Loosen up a little. Guy and Smidge are already here, we’re playing snowball tag while we look and it’s a great way to destroy the flimsy ones. You should join-“ She was suddenly struck down by a snowball to the face.

“Poppy!” Branch gasped, scrambling to his feet to help her out.

“Hah! Got yooooouuu!” Guy Diamond popped out and whooped in victory, up until Branch retaliated with a snowball directly to the stomach.

“Hah! I’m still ten points ahead!” Poppy smirked, already back up again and preparing another snowball.

Guy gave a bit of a shriek, and tried to scamper away, getting hit once again not by Poppy, but by a much larger snowball from another direction.

“Satin and Chenille,”  
“Have joined the battlefield!” The twins made their debut, high-fiving each other.

“Hey! A snowball that big can break a good snowflake!” Branch reprimanded.

“Yeah, keep them a little smaller, guys.” Poppy suggested more kindly, turning back to him and whispered, “And what did I say about loosening up?” With a grin, she smashed the snowball still in her hand onto his face.

“Try telling that to Smidge,” Guy Diamond called out. “She tried to hit me earlier with one the size of meeeee!”

“The size of a troll?!” Branch gawked.

“That Smidge.” Poppy shook her head. “We better go stop her.”

“Yes, we should! Where is she, Guy?” Branch angrily stomped his way over to the glitter troll. He was not going to tolerate the sort of behavior that could break his snowflake.

They followed behind Guy and he led them to Smidge. The twins trailed just behind, very obviously planning to take advantage of the situation to hit the tiny troll when she was distracted.

“Smidge!” Branch wasted no time marching over to the yellow troll the moment she came into view. “You better stop at on-“ He was painfully bowled over by, sure enough, a snowball that was more or less the size of a small boulder.

“Yes! Score one for Smidge!” She hollered triumphantly

“Those are way too big, Smidge!”

“Yeah, you’re gonna make Branch blow a fuse.”

“Oops, my bad.” She shrugged, clearly not very sorry, moments before she was pelted by both the twins and the massive stockpile they had hidden in their hair.

“Branch, are you okay?” Poppy and Guy Diamond leaned above the downed troll.

When the world stopped spinning and Branch came back to reality, he noticed the sky was a little darker grey and sort of grainy-looking. His eyes widening, he pointed up in a panic and yelled. “ _FALLING_ _SNOWFLAKES_!!!”

Everyone looked up in alert. Sure enough, there was an approaching flurry.

“Everyone, make a shelter!” Poppy was the quickest to command. The group came close together and used their combined hair to create a dome above their heads, just as the first few snowflakes started falling.

“At this time in the day, they’re probably not too big and dangerous.” Satin suggested hopefully.

And right in front of them, a massive snowflake made impact, stabbing the snow-covered ground like a warm knife through soft butter, even slicing through two other snowflakes.

“....Dibs!” Smidge hollered.

“I don’t think your pod can hold up _THAT_.”

“Poppy, where is Peppy?” Branch turned to her.

“Oh no, dad!” Poppy gasped.

The two of them broke off from the group, creating their own smaller umbrella-like shield that would only provide a small amount of protection. Silently, they agreed that Branch would keep a look out for more falling snowflakes while Poppy focused on finding her father.

“On our left!” Branch warned in time for them to avoid another snowflake with a very sharp, spiky appearance.

“There he is!” Poppy was relieved to find that her father was covered under another snowflake, but it wasn’t going to provide ample protection for too long.

And that’s when Branch noticed it; the perfect snowflake. It was nice and small, which he didn’t mind at all. It’s eight-pointed star in the center, it’s heart shaped lobes jutting out from eight branches like leaves; additionally, it was an unusual deep blue with the faint outline of a lighter tone that shined a nice vibrant green at the right angle.

And it was being used as a shelter by Peppy, who was about to get hit by a much larger snowflake.

Without too much time to think, the king and queen used smaller strands of their hair to lasso around the older troll and pull him away just in time. Branch’s perfect snowflake was left it to it’s fate as the newly fallen one crushed it to sparkly blue dust and small bits of ice.

“Dad, thank goodness!” Poppy happily embraced her father underneath their cover.

Just like that, the small storm passed, leaving behind a fresh new set of snowflakes for the trolls to look at.

Branch stared at the remnants of ice scattered where Peppy had been not long ago.

“That...snowflake...”

“Oh dear, my apologies son,” Peppy instantly realized what was wrong. “I had hoped to show it to you.”

Branch shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, at least your safe.”

Seeing that there were no more giant falling snowflakes, they let down their protective dome and walked back towards the group’s direction. There were a few smaller ones still fluttering down, but the chances of those few hitting them were as minuscule as the chances of them not seeing them in time to avoid them.

But Branch, with all his misfortune, was painfully struck down by one last snowflake.

“Branch!” Poppy gasped, immediately grabbing for his head and inspecting the injury.

“Oooh, that...hurts.” He groaned from the throbbing soreness.

“Count your lucky stars it wasn’t any bigger.” Peppy picked up the culprit with ease, as it was only slightly larger than a whole average-sized troll. He inspected it closely.

Back on his feet, once again, Branch declared. “I think I have enough snowflake searching for the rest of the year.”

“But Branch, you haven’t found your perfect snowflake!”

“At this rate, I really don’t care. In fact,” Branch grabbed the snowflake still in Peppy’s hands, which he forfeited without complaint. “Here it is, my snowflake for the holiday. Let’s pack this sucker up.”

“You can’t just pick a random snowflake, it defeats the spirit of the holiday!” Poppy argued.

“This thing literally hit me in the noggin; I’m sure it’s a sign of some sort.”

“But Branch-“ Poppy was stopped by a hand from her father, who gave her a warning look. She huffed. “Fine. But I’m going to have to find a really big, extra amazing snowflake to make up for that.” She gestured to the plain, small one he settled on.

“I think it has it’s own charm to it.” Peppy winked. “Looks can be deceiving at first.”

Meeting back up with their friends, Poppy and the rest decided to continue their search and have more snowflake-destroying fun while Branch headed home to rest. He carried the snowflake carefully entwined in hair.

More at ease now, he waved calmly to the other trolls, encountering Biggie along the way.

“Why hello, Branch!” Biggie waved happily. Mr. Dinkles was on his shoulder, covered head-to-toe in a coat fitted for a worm and likely designed by the twins. Biggie himself was well insulated as a giant troll and only needed a sweater, mittens, and boots. “I see you’ve found your snowflake by now; I apologize that I wasn’t able to tag along.”

“Hey Biggie. It’s alright, you didn’t miss much anyway.” Branch looked downward in Biggie’s arms. “Blue glitter, huh?” He couldn’t help but be reminded that his perfect snowflake literally burst into sparkly blue dust much like it.

“To decorate my snowflake tomorrow. It’s the last of my supplies I needed; I have a few homemade ornaments from last year, and I’ve made a few new ones this morning. What about you, Branch? How will you decorate yours?”

“Uh...well...” He hadn’t even thought of decorations. He had nothing, unless he swiped from Poppy’s own stock, which would defeat the purpose of an individually created snowflake. “I’ll...wing it.”

Biggie smiled, somewhat understandably. “I have plenty of glitter if you’d like some.” He offered kindly.

Branch blushed and gulped. He wasn’t a fan of glitter, but it was a very nice gesture and Biggie is a very sweet and sensitive troll. “Sure. Thanks, buddy.” He made a small cup with his hair, were Biggie deposited about half his container into.

“I’ll see you around Branch! Have a good afternoon!” Biggie waved to him before venturing off to his own devices.

At home Branch dropped his snowflake off nearby; bringing it inside the warmer pod would guarantee it would melt.

Inside, with a hot cup of cocoa, he sat on a chair by the window that faced his snowflake outside, looking at it from the comfort of his home, wondering what he could come up with to decorate his snowflake while leaving him time to focus on the festivities tomorrow.

“Something that reflects me.” He pondered hard. “Something...something...” He was clueless where to start.

He wasn’t that survivalist out in the woods anymore, so it’d be weird to use leaves or sticks or other outdoorsy materials...and Poppy would probably stuff his pants with snow for the rest of the season if he did.

He still wasn’t all that comfortable with his role as king either, and it would be pretty shallow and gaudy to decorate it to reflect his status.

Maybe he could go the easy route and use felt figures to make a story? Like his and Poppy’s adventure to save the Snack Pack that ended up creating peace with the Bergens. That sounded like a good idea, but maybe for another year; this was his first snowflake and he needed to keep it more simple.

Once his drink was finished up, he decided to go out and look at his chosen snowflake more closely, hoping for inspiration to strike him.

It of course hadn’t move a budge and seemed to be doing just fine without any threat of melting or shattering. It was a very sturdy octagon shape and unlikely to break, due to the fact that it was so simple and didn’t have any intricate patterns. It was almost like a blank template...

He blinked, and he got caught in an idea that was exactly like something he’d pull off. In a hurry he returned inside and sat on Poppy’s craft area, grabbing her scissors and a few scrap sheets of felt. He started with a few cut outs of hearts in pink, to symbolize his grandmother; the eight-point star like the pendant that once belonged to his grandfather; pink flowers for Poppy and purple ones for his mother; blue circles to represent his father, and orange mustaches for Peppy; and finally, a few green leaves for himself. It was a strange assortment of shapes, but collectively the confetti was satisfactory to Branch. He piled them all into a cloth bag, dropping in the blue glitter Biggie gave him as well.

He carried the snowflake to his old bunker, untouched for months as he had been too busy working and adjusting to his new routine. He left it outside for now, until he was ready to use it.

He remembered which storage room held the set of tools he needed; the artificially-made clay he used for molds, his chiseling set, and a small torch meant to melt metal joints to fuse them. He drew out his idea on grided paper, everything that he had imagined his mother’s special snowflake to have looked like. He got to work moulding his synthetic clay into a replica of his drawing. With the shape done, he cooked it in his prepped hearth outside, and left it to cool off in the snow.

He covered his snowflake in the confetti and glitter, and used his flamethrower to melt snow on top so that the decorations would be melted into the snowflake while leaving the surface of it smooth.

When his mold was cool enough to use, he created a fast-hardening resin, mixing some gelatin-like sap from a flycatcher plant with a thickening powder. He made a small batch to pour onto the mould, and made tea while he waited for the mixture to harden just enough so that his snowflake wouldn’t sink to the bottom, a little over thirty minutes. After placing the snowflake on top, he created more of the clear resin and poured it over; the snowflake was smaller than the mould so that the resin would completely cover it on all sides. He took it back outside, so that the snowflake wouldn’t melt before the resin hardened all the way. It was going to be a longer wait, so he headed some to prep up a soup.

Poppy still wasn’t back home, so he left a note telling her he was at the bunker and to help herself to the soup. When he returned he checked the resin and was pleased to see that it completely hardened. The last step was to mimic the pattern the mould made onto the flat side. With the chisel, he carved out the same patterns he’d drawn out, like an engraving, first with an eight-point star in the center, and then depictions of branches that contained leaves shaped as hearts, as well as a few flowers. He completed his work with a sun pattern around the edges; a detail he thought best represented how he felt about the trolls he was symbolizing with his snowflake. He buffered the pattern to help it shine clear again. With one last inspection for any holes that would let the water inside leak out, Branch was finally satisfied with his work. Now all he had to do was take it back home and wait for Poppy to get hers done so they could tie them up outside. He can at least prepare their twine while he waited.

—

It was near the end of the day when she came home alongside her father, the two of them laughing and chatting as they carried their chosen snowflakes back to their pod, reminiscing the fun they had all day.

“Too bad Branch didn’t have as much fun and left early,” Poppy noted. “So many amazing new snowflakes, he probably could’ve found one he likes.”

“There is always next year, dear. It is his first gathering, after all.” Peppy reminded her.

“Well, I can’t wait to get mine decorated! I hope Branch made food, I’m starving!”

“I’m sure he has, and it looks to me he’s already prepared the pod.” Peppy gestured to Poppy and Branch’s pod, where the blue troll was outside creating the twine net that would hold up their snowflakes.

“Heeeyyy Braaanch!” Poppy excitedly jumped up and down, waving her arms. Branch looked down at them and waved back.

When she climbed all the way back to the branch that led to their pod, she excitedly shoved her snowflake closer to him. “Check it out! It’s practically a daisy the way it formed!” The snowflake she had, sure enough, appeared as if nature had purposely created a flower out of pure ice. It was tinted a nice shade of blue that reflected all the other colors of the rainbow at the curved ends of it’s ‘petals.’ It was also a decently large size, so it was definitely the first one to be put up.

“Looks great.” Was all Branch said to her, but she didn’t take offense by the short compliment, used to it when Branch was focus on other tasks.

“I think I’m going to use all flower decorations this year!” She exclaimed. “Did you make anything to eat?”

“Yeah, some soup, give me a sec, I’ll reheat it`.” He called back.

“Kay!” Poppy left her snowflake out, and right then she realized something. “Hey Branch, what happened to your snowflake?”

“Oh, it’s in the pod.”

“Oh, okay.” Content with the response, she headed inside and went straight to her crafting desk where her box of ornaments have been left undisturbed underneath. She noticed the small mess that wasn’t there that morning. ‘Branch must’ve made ornaments for his own already! I can’t wait to see-‘ She stilled and she replayed his words in her head. “Wait... _IN_ _THE_ _POD_?!”

Looking around, she spotted the snowflake...right by the doorway.

“BRANCH!!!” She screeched, bursting out the pod with his snowflake in hand. “Are you _crazy_?! Your snowflake almost melted!”

He was just outside the doorway, a few steps from entering, so they faced each other. He raised his eyebrows and smirked in amusement, crossing his arms.

“What’s so funny, huh?” She glared at him. “I thought you were smarter than this! If I hadn’t come home in time, you would’ve lost your snowflake, and it’s gonna get dark pretty soon!”

He was still giving her that ridiculously cute smirk of his, when she realized that the snowflake in her hands wasn’t very cold. Confused, she lowered it down and looked closely. She was even more puzzled that the snowflake changed patterns and had a different feel to it, but even more so when she noticed the liquid full of confetti floating inside. “Whaaaaa?”

“Neat, huh?” Branch chuckled. “Our snowflakes are suppose to represent us, right? So what better way to represent me by creating my own _permanent_ snowflake, with my own design?”

“Permanent snowflake?” Poppy has never even heard of such a thing.

“Yep! This baby will last forever; I won’t even need to waste energy going out every year just to find one particular snowflake, I can just put this in storage and take it out for the next festival.”

“Branch...thats’....that...”

“Ingenius? Clever? _Brilliant_?” He answered for her cheekily.

“Completely defeats the purpose!” She angrily huffed, shoving the snowflake into his arms. “Your suppose to go out to the field every year for your snowflake, it’s _tradition_!”

“A freezing, feet-killing, cold-inducing tradition; my way is far more practical!”

“Branch,” she hissed. “You are not hanging up this ridiculous _thing_ on our pod!”

“It’s too late to get another!”

“Then tomorrow!”

“What about the festivities?”

“You’ll take care of that _AND_ get a new snowflake!”

“Why would I even do that? There’s nothing wrong with _this_ snowflake!”

“It’s against our tradition!”

“This stupid tradition hasn’t even been around for too long!”

“It’s _NOT_ stupid and that doesn’t make it any less important!”

“It _IS_ stupid because your saying _MY_ way isn’t any more relevant than _YOURS_!”

“Um, y-your majesties?” Someone interrupted.

The two of them, wide-eyed, turned to the troll that seemed to physically shrink. “H-hi, it’s your neighbor Pollen. I just wanted to...um, is everything alright?”

Poppy and Branch noticed that their yelling had caused quite a commotion. Several of their neighbors were watching the duo from their own pods, Peppy included, and boy he did not look pleased.

They both at least had the decency to be flustered, considering they’ve been previously good at keeping their arguments behind closed doors since their marriage. It wasn’t a good look for the royal couple to be yelling at each other, after all; it could cause panic and doubts among the village.

“Ehehe...IS what we would be saying IF we were ANGRY with each other, which we’re _NOT_!” Poppy plastered a big grin on her face, immediately interlocking fingers with Branch’s affectionally, even smushing their cheeks together.

“Definitely _NOT_ ,” Branch said with equally fake pretenses. “We’re just _TOO_ _HAPPY_ with each other all the time!” He even puckered his lips and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Thank goodness their species collectively had the brains of a dull rock, as their neighbors accepted their poor attempt at public relations and returned inside. Except Peppy. His eyes narrowed to an extremely rare glare and silently promised them a lecture later, before he too turned in for the remainder of the day. Pollen looked hesitant to leave them alone, but eventually backed away to her own pod and squeaked a goodnight to them.

“I hope she’ll still let us borrow her cookie cutters.” Branch said.

Poppy rolled her eyes and marched inside.

—

Poppy never stayed angry for long, especially over trivial things, so Branch wasn’t concerned about forgiveness. But clearly she still did not like his snowflake and tried her best to at least appear mad in a desperate attempt to make him cave in.

She frowned at the dinner table, complimenting his delicious soup with a seething pout. She glared her way through scrapbooking. When she returned from decorating her snowflake and hanging it up, she stomped her back inside, heading directly to the couch where he was patiently reading a book and sat on the opposite side with her arms crossed and her ears cherry red by now.

He sighed and set his book down. “Poppy-“

“Braaaaanch!” She cried out instantly, enveloping in a tight hug. “I’m SORRY, it looks nice and all BUT it’s just _COMPLETELY_ _AGAINST_ everything I’ve ever known about the holiday and I _LOVE_ that your unique and different from the other trolls but I REALLY, REALLY CAN’T accept this _PLEASE_ DON’T HANG IT UP _PLEEEEAAAAASE_!!!!!”

Instead of responding, he got up and guided her over to the snowflake, which had returned to it’s previous perch by the door. She refused to look at it, however, finding great interest in the ceiling and hugging herself.

“Hey, see the stuff swirling around?” Branch gestured to the colorful confetti floating inside. “I made them to symbolize the trolls important in my life; pink flowers for you, and purple ones for my mother-“ Her breath immediately hitched. “Blue circles for my father, orange mustaches for Peppy-“

“I’m sorry, I had no idea!” She cried again and hugged him even tighter.

“I didn’t even finish.” He choked out as he powered through her bear-like hold.

“I heard enough!” Poppy happily dropped him like a potato sack. “And hey, I see you designed hearts and your special star!”

“Y-yeah,” He got back up his feet and pointed out the remainder of his snowflake’s details.

Shortly after that, the small synthetic snowflake found itself dangling just underneath Poppy’s larger real one, the two twirling with even the slightest breeze. The smaller one was pretty simplistic in design compared to the larger one which have been decorated with ribbons, glitter, and handmade ornaments in nearly every available space, but it suited their troll’s personalities just fine and each had it’s own special qualities, which was exactly what the holiday was all about.

Poppy still looked solemnly at the smaller one. “You’re still getting a new one next year.” She said just before bed.

But little did she know, she wasn’t getting her way and the snowflake would be returning for years to come, better and improved. Branch thinks the simmering look of disdain and reluctant acceptance she made at it every time was just too preciously cute.

—

There were two major reasons Branch hated wearing the king’s crown.

One: it kept his hair stiffer and more useless.

Two: it reminded _everyone_  of his position and thus they all swarmed him with their problems.

And not to mention royals duties were just a sucker’s job; taking care of other troll’s issue that, more often than not, had a scathingly obvious solution that a basic amount of common sense would have resolved instantly.

“Yes, Nathan, I do think that snowflake will compliment your ladybug ornaments.” He answered the troll with a bored, deadpan tone.

“Hmmmmm, I don’t know...” The red troll in question twisted the snowflake around, looking for any more flaws. “I guess it has enough polka dots, but... _does_ _it_ _really_?”

Branch deeply sighed and mentally sobbed as he endured this torture for hours, surviving on cups of coffee rather than hot chocolate for the entire time in the fields.

He had just formed a compromise between two trolls that have been fighting over one particular snowflake (turns out, they’re siblings living next to each other and more than happy to split the snowflake in equal halves), when Cooper approached him.

“What up, Branch?” Cooper greeted the blue troll happily. “Hey, mind helping me find my snowflake? I had it earlier, but I lost it somewhere. It’s got a hole in the center, looks like a-“

“It’s around your neck.” Branch replied, unamused.

Looking down, Cooper spotted the exact snowflake he had been describing. “Hey, you found it! Thanks, pal!”

“That’s what I’m here for, _unfortunately_.” He muttered the last part under his breath.

“Hey, could you also help me get it off?” Cooper pleaded.

So Branch spent a good twenty minutes trying to tug it off Cooper’s neck without breaking it. It only took so long because just as he felt he almost got it out, a multitude of trolls would stop him for help with their own problems.

But at last, it came off with the slightest ‘pop,’ completely intact.

“Thanks again, buddy!” Cooper picked up the snowflake with two of his limbs, which ended up being a problem. Because of his quadruped anatomy, he wasn’t an expert walking on just two legs; he was even too clumsy to walk with three. “Huh, now how am I gonna carry this home? It’ll melt in my mouth. Oh, I know!” Holding the snowflake up, Cooper squeezed his head into the large hole in the center, the snowflake now around him like a collar, and back to square one. “There, now I know it’ll be safe ‘til I get home.”

Branch, meanwhile, had sprinted off into the distance, ignoring all the trolls trying to approach him, and muffled his frustrated screams onto a pile of snow.

—

Finally, it was time for the two to switch places. Poppy had the audacity to be in a chipper mood as they crossed paths, sprinting towards him with her hand up ready for a high five.

“Let’s keep it up!” She said as she jumped in the air and smacked his own raised hand with perfect precision, dancing the rest of the way towards the fields with a few of her friends in tow and a song already out of her mouth. “And don’t eat or drink too much! Save room for the Snowflake Run!” He ignored her advice and took a long gulp of his tenth coffee.

Branch was more grateful to be working closer to the tree; it was warmer, hot drinks were more easily accessible, and most of the troll’s problems involved handiwork or labor, which he certainly didn’t mind.

But Smidge, having already finished hanging up and decorating her own snowflake (fortified with several ropes wrapped around nearby branches and definitely the largest snowflake ever), decided to tag along with him instead of Poppy, for some reason. He never understood why Smidge took it upon herself to help out Poppy with royal duties, and even less so why she extended the same courtesy to him occasionally.

But it was _annoying_.

—

“Alright Buttercup, have your twine ready, I’m lifting this bad boy up in three, two-“

“I got it! I got it!” Smidge practically shoved him out of his way, nearly throwing him off the tree itself; he regained his balance just in time to see Smidge grab the snowflake a little too roughly and break it into a few chunks.

“Oops, guess you’re gonna have to find a new one.” Smidge sheepishly shrugged at the shocked troll. Branch facepalmed.

—

“Oh, do please hurry dear, I have my mitten-knitting tournament in half an hour.” An elderly troll hovered over him worriedly, as he sat in her pod trying to fix a delicate ornament; something passed along through ten generations and had a bunch of gears and moveable parts.

“Aaaaand there.” He double checked to make sure all the mechanics worked properly, and was rewarded when the two trolls at the center of a wreath of berries twirled like dancers. “Perfect!”

“Oh, thank you, it’s been so long since it last moved!” The troll exclaimed joyfully.

“If you don’t mind telling where to put it on your snowflake-“ Branch was interrupted by Smidge punching the door open all of a sudden.

“I got it, I got it!” She snatched the ornament out of Branch’s hands.

“Wait, no!” Too late; Smidge had already bounded off towards the snowflake outside, and seeing no other place to put it on that wasn’t already filled with another ornament, proceeded to throw a few out of her way.

“My _family_ _heirlooms_!” The elderly troll shrieked as ornaments were carelessly flung off the tree branch, forcing Branch to take a dive in order to save them in time, hoping the snow below cushioned his fall at least a little.

—

“Smidge,” Branch clamped his hands and took a deep breath. “Don’t you think maybe _Poppy_ needs your help right about now?”

“Nope!” The tiny troll happily responded. “She’s got plenty of help and asked me to tag along with you!”

“Of course she did,” Branch whispered to himself. “Well, okay then, how about you help me with a really, _REALLY_ important task that I’m not sure I can handle all my own?”

“Say the word, boss, Sergeant Smidge is ready and able!” She saluted.

“Great! I need you to head to my bunker and find this one item.” He scribbled down on his notepad he always carried and ripped out the paper to hand it to her.

Smidge read it. “Snapdallion powder.”

“Yep, it’s somewhere there. Super important stuff, it...makes ice more slippery, for the ice rink!” Branch lied with a nervous, faked smile.

But Smidge took the bait anyway. “You got it, your majesty!” She hurried off.

“And try not to make a mess!” He hollered quickly before she was out of earshot. “Hopefully she wont destroy too many things.” For now, he was relieved to be free of her presence and can deal with the consequences of the damage to his bunker later.

There’s not even such a thing called Snapdallion powder, so she’ll be looking a long time.

—

He had lifted a multitude of snowflakes to the top branches, assisted a troll after the candies they had used to decorate their snowflake attracted a few non-hibernating bugs, found a lost pet, and of course helped other trolls hang up their snowflakes, all while having to coordinate the workers who were stringing lights around the tree without getting too close to someone’s snowflake and melting it, as well as checking up on everyone preparing the celebratory banquet and the performers getting ready for their acts.

Taking a hot cider break while leaned against the tree trunk, he noticed Poppy and her gang make their way back, meaning the last few trolls must’ve finally decided on their snowflakes; so now it was going to be a matter of helping those few stragglers get their last-minute decorating done and then the festival could officially begun, although already some trolls were enjoying the food and music.

Poppy of course, the moment she spotted him, wasted no time running over to give him a crushing hug. “Branch, I’m so glad to see you!”

“Same, same.” He rubbed her back affectionately.

“And guess what, I’ve got a big surprise for you!” Poppy was vibrating, unable to contain her excitement. He raised his eyebrow in amusement.

Then the rest of the Snack Pack, minus Smidge and Suki, caught up, holding something behind their backs. “Tada!” Biggie said, holding up on of the mysterious objects.

Branch dropped his cider, mouth agape.

The snowflake they had found was, by sheer coincidence, a nearly identical copy of the one he created, minus the confetti and a few other details.

“That’s not possible, I made up that pattern!” Branch grabbed the snowflake as soon as it was offered, looking at it closer. It wasn’t a perfect copy, and even smaller than his, but alas it was completely natural-forming.

“Now, I know it’s waaaaay too small to replace that... _other_ _one_...with this, but I still thought it’d be nice to share it with you, just in case.” Though he could still hear the tint of hope in her voice.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t.” He gave her a small smirk when her own smile downturned for a second. “But thank you, I really appreciate it. Maybe we can put it up somewhere else.”

“Already though of it! We’re putting some up at the stage!” On cue, the rest of the group revealed multiple other snowflakes as small as the one he was holding.

“We’ve grabbed a few of the small ones we’ve found,” Satin exclaimed, showing off the two she was carrying. “They’d make a great backdrop!”

”Just imagine a couple of these dangling together!” Chenille sighed. “On a miniature tree!”

“Let’s go to the stage and set ‘em up now!” The Snack Pack raced each other to the main area of the festival.

“You’re not going with them?” Branch asked.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, they’ll be fine. I’m going to check on Suki at her booth...hey, where’s Smidge by the way?” Poppy looked around. “I thought she’d be around here.”

“....Running an errand.” His eyes shifted around.

“You made something up to get her off your back and she’s in the bunker.” Poppy answered, giving him a knowing stare.

“....” He looked down, blushing and nodded.

“...Welp, you better go fetch her!” Poppy patted his shoulder. “And hurry it up!” She bounced away.

Branch sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

—

“Hey Smidge, I found it; it was in my pod all along!” He yelled out into the large expanse of the bunker, which by now looked as if a twister had run through it.

“Fudgesicles!” Smidge cursed in the distance.

“And your replacing everything that’s broken!”

“ _F*_ * _K_!”

He rolled his eyes and exited the bunker.

—

In addition to the crown, he was now forced into wearing the king’s winter cape, which unlike the regular cape was knitted in a wooly fabric that had an uncomfortably rough texture. It kept the cold out well, but it was itchy over his shoulders. “Ugh, do I really have to wear this?”

Poppy was quick to glare at him. “Branch, that cape is only over your back. I’ve worn this gown for every winter for the last three years and always had to deal with the rash that breaks out _EVERYWHERE_ that isn’t covered by my dress. Don’t complain to me about how itchy _YOU_ are on your _goddamn_ shoulders.”

“We need new royal robes.” He whined.

“It’s a two minute speech, plus I have the perfect route planned out; we should get the Snowflake Run done in maybe thirty to fourty-five minutes and then we’ll be able to change back at home.”

“Fourty-seven minutes of _agony_.” He squeaked with dread.

“Don’t forget to smile.” Poppy reminded, as she walked forward onto the stage, him trailing just behind as they faced the celebrating crowd currently lost in the music.

—

They were ten minutes into the Snowflake Run, a few other VIP trolls following along, of which included Peppy. They waved at the trolls standing outside their pods with snacks in hand, some singing songs, and some nitpicking at their snowflakes before their presentations.

“It looks wonderful, Rugby!” Poppy happily complimented.

“Thank you, Queen Poppy, King Branch! Please, have some peppermint bark!”

“Thank you, Rugby, how generous of you.” Branch grinned with clenched teeth, and took the smallest bite he possibly could; they weren’t even halfway done and he was already feeling full and sick of all the offered treats. It was no wonder Poppy could handle copious amounts of it.

“Absolutely beautiful, Jasmine!” Poppy Oooed at the next snowflake, stunned by the troll’s decorating.

The glitter troll of course brightened up. “I’m so happy to hear that! Here, everyone enjoy some homemade snack cakes!”

“Thank you, Jasmine, how very kind.” Branch sneakily handed his over to his father-in-law, who seemed to have enjoyed it well enough. He’s sure it’s delicious and all, but he just couldn’t stomach it right now.

“I told you to cut down on the cider and coffee.” Poppy whispered to him.

“I needed something nice and hot to get through the day,” He shot back. “I dunno how you could frolic in these frigid temperatures all the time, I’ve wanted to stay at home under the covers since noon.”

Poppy shrugged. “I’m always outside. Hey Biggie! Your snowflake’s fantastic!” She focused her attention back to their task at hand, even happier to see a friend.

—

Finally, they were at their own branch, the last stretch of their Snowflake Run; and it had _NOT_ been thirty to fourty-five minutes like Poppy had claimed. They were both so relieved to see their pod in the distance; so close, but so far away. So they sped up the process.

“Great snowflake Fred! Hot chocolate? How kind of you!” Poppy took a quick sip and waved the troll goodbye just as fast.

“Why hello Pollen! Your snowflake looks fantastic! Are those homemade marshmallows? You shouldn’t have!” Branch ‘cheerfully’ took a nibble and gave his fidgeting neighbor a thumbs up to show his approval.

“O-oh, I’m so glad you-“ Pollen was interrupted when Poppy begun to speak up for all the trolls currently present.

“Thank you all for yet another wonderful Snowflakes Day!” The queen announced. “We were so glad to see everyone put so much effort on their snowflake decorating this year, and we look forward to seeing everyone back at the midnight party! Enjoy looking at everyone’s snowflakes!” She quickly tugged at Branch’s arm and pulled him towards the pod.

But of course, there was going to be a crowd of trolls waiting around their pod, likely to give out their own compliment’s to the couple’s snowflakes. “Queen Poppy, King Branch, I just wanted to say-“

She and Branch squeezed through the crowd. “Our snowflakes look _great_? Hey, thanks, we worked hard on them. Appreciate the compliment. We’ll be back outside in just a moment! See you!” Poppy slammed the door.

“Oh thank god!” Branch gasped and nearly ripped the cape off of him.

“Hurry up and help me with this gown!” Branch obeyed and undone the few hidden buttons from the back. Poppy didn’t even wait for him to back away at a safe distance before she squirmed her way out of the gown, nearly knocking his chin off with her elbow. “Oh sweet freedom!” She exclaimed with relief, slumping on the chair doing her best to fight the urge to scratch.

“Where’s the ointment?” Branch demanded as he searched through their medicine cabinet.

“Vanity drawer. Don’t you dare use it all.” Poppy fidgeted as the urge to scratch increased.

It took Branch a few seconds too long to find it; it didn’t have much cream left, so he took the smallest dollop he could before sacrificing the rest to his benevolent queen, who snatched it with gusto and squirted the remainder on her hand. She wasted no more time applying it to several parts of her body.

“We need new robes. I don’t care that your great aunt made them for the very first Snowflakes Day; we need new robes.” He sat down on the arm of Poppy’s chair, there was still a twinge of itchiness he struggled to ignore.

“I’ll....talk to Satin and Chenille about lining it with something soft.” She promised. The two of them then kept their focus on help each other not scratch.

—

Within a few more minutes they were changed to far more comfortable coats and greeted all the trolls standing outside their pod.

“Queen Poppy, your snowflake looks just like a flower!”

“We love your decorations!”

“The canary is my favorite!”

Most trolls swarmed and complimented Poppy’s snowflake. Branch could tell there were a few looking at his curiously and whispering to each other about it, stealing glances at him, likely to make certain he couldn’t hear them.

Maybe Poppy was right; it was a little too different from the rest...

“King Branch, may I inquire about your Snowflake? It’s quite unique; it’s not even cold.”

Well, there was at least one brave troll ready to criticize him to his face. The troll in question was sitting atop a caterpillar with a service pet vest on and fluffy custom boots on each leg.

“Well...” Now he was feeling just a little insecure, but he be damned if he didn’t get to boast a little bit, even if it’s to a troll who was likely as displeased with it as Poppy. “I...made it, with some synthetic materials. The liquid inside was from the original snowflake, but I made the coating so it would be forever lasting.”

He hadn’t expected such a positive reaction. “Why, that’s _brilliant_! I could use one of those myself!” The troll exclaimed, lighting up like a firework, which showed his genuine interest.

“You could?” Branch blinked.

“It’s not easy getting around this time of year when you can’t walk, and this ol’ girl Bitsy,” He patted the caterpillar, prompting her to chirp happily, “Get’s too sleepy n’ cold out here. Be nice to have a snowflake ready to install, not force my kin to look out something special for me.”

“Uh....yeah! If you’re interested, I can even customice the design.”

That made the old troll even happier. “That’s wonderful! I will have to hold you to that! Perhaps you’d be willing to come to my pod to discuss this further sometime? I know you must be quite busy to visit these ol’ bones...”

“I can come as early as tomorrow, if you’d like,” Branch enthusiastically answered, “It’s no trouble at all! Oh, and...it’s Gerald, correct?”

A warmer smile graced the troll’s face. He nodded, “Why, you even remember my name.”

After receiving directions to the troll’s pod, Gerald’s granddaughter came to take him back inside before Bitsy got too cold. After that interaction, other trolls came around to compliment his snowflake as well, even one exclaiming they’d love to have one made for their bedridden mother.

It took a long while for the majority of the crowd to disperse, leaving the couple to venture around the tree and later join the festivities below.

“Soooo, I guess that snowflake isn’t that bad after all.” Poppy said as they walked away to revisit some of their favorite snowflakes and meet up with friends.

“Then why are you still shooting glares at it?” He asked, amused.

“I’m not!” She quickly snapped her head facing forward.

Branch laughed, his mood lightened. “By the way, I actually remembered a troll’s name for once, without needing your help, and they weren’t our neighbor!”

“You did?” Poppy gasped immediately. “That’s wonderful Branch! Only 300+ more names to go!” She high-fived him, then leaned in closer for a cuddly embrace, which he rewarded with a kiss on the cheek, and she returned with a kiss on the lips. The worst of the holiday was behind them now, and they could focus on the party, the merriment, and the fun.

They visited Peppy’s pod, giggling to each other over the ‘ornaments’ that looked like the former king’s clothes, before realizing they _were_ in fact his clothes and that meant he was somewhere out there, bare in the cold. They quickly retrieved the articles and went on the search.

They’ve visited all of their friend’s snowflakes to get better looks at them than they did on the Snowflake Run, adding a few extra twine for bracing on Smidge’s as it seemed to have bent the branch since they last saw it. The only one of their friend’s they didn’t visit was Cooper’s, as his snowflake had stayed around his neck rather than put up on his pod.

Branch pointed out the moving ornaments belonging to the elderly troll he had helped earlier, while Poppy pointed out the color changing ones she had made alongside another.

They encountered small trollings with lots of questions, and stopped long enough to tell the young ones a short tale of the first Snowflakes Day and how it came to be.

At the party, Poppy relented her strict protocol and allowed Branch to go off and make a safety perimeter check, while she went dancing and socializing with others. He came back with nothing else to report, and was forced into dancing and singing up until midnight.

—

Cuddled in bed, they discussed New Hair’s Eve, the next upcoming holiday to prepare for.

“Poppy,” Branch yawned, “I’m not saying your great aunt was a bad seamstress...but after the coronation suit that pinched my waist, the Summersault uniform that was stitched worse than my old clothes, and the Snowflakes Day robe that really itched, I think we should just let Satin and Chenille take up our official garments from now on.”

“Maybe your right, Branch. I’d feel bad though, she worked so hard on them, but...” She shuddered, “You have no idea how horrible that Heartbeat Day ballroom dress was.”

“So...new New Hair’s Eve clothes?”

“New New Hair’s Eve clothes.” She agreed, letting out a big yawn. “I guess we can bend a few traditions here and there.”

Branch smiled fondly and kissed her forehead. “And thanks for tolerating all my weird habits.”

“You’re still getting rid of that thing.”

But he never did, and would make another, more intricate one for their future daughter, who loved her special forever snowflake so much she would even keep it inside, to her mother’s dismay. And there were even a few more scattered around the troll tree by next year and from then on, each and every one of them prompting an adorably rare grimace from the queen herself.


End file.
